The second instalment of the biggest comic book movie trilogy since The Dark Knight comes to your screens.
I probably shouldn’t have to say this anymore, by now. But in case you are just joining us on this here blog, the knight is dark, and full of spoilers.
Buckle up.
This is probably going to be the longest movie review I have ever written. I promised you 5 minute reads, and this is a 10 minute scroll. But bear with me, I promise it’s worth it.
Release date: 2 June 2023
Directors: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
Prequel: Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
Sequel: Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse
Distributed by: Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, Sony Pictures Releasing
Based on: Marvel Comics
Box office: $503.4 million
Cast: Shameik Moore, Oscar Isaac, Karan Soni, Daniel Kaluuya, Jason Schwartzman, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Issa Ray, Brian Tyree Henry, Andy Samberg, Lauren Velez, Greta Lee, Donald Glover, Amandla Stenberg, Mahershala Ali
Summary
This sequel to Into The Spider-Verse shows a more confident Miles who discovers that there’s an elite Spider Society who can travel to any dimension. He discovers this when his inter-dimensional friend and newly recruited member of the squad, Spider Gwen, drops by to say “hi” while on a mission to stop a goofy, non-threatening villain, The Spot, from becoming an existential threat. Miles follows Gwen while she chases The Spot across universes and their quest takes them to Mumbattan. Here, Miles helps save an inspector from certain death, an act he was apparently not supposed to do because it causes a rift in the time-space continuum. They then have to report to the Spider Society to figure out how to solve the problem caused by this anomaly.
Spider Squad CEO, Miguel O’Hara, then shows Miles how their lives are all interwoven through the multiverse and tells him that canon events are important to the creation of Spider-People. Everyone must have theirs to become who they need to be. (Which made me wonder why Miles needs to have 2 canon events, since he already saw/caused his Uncle Aaron’s death, but apparently, every Spider Person needs to experience the death of a Captain)
Miles realises these events include the possible death of his soon-to-be-captain father and attempts to return to his universe to try to stop this from happening. He ends up going to the wrong universe and the movie ends on a cliffhanger with an unexpected twist, setting up the third and final instalment in the trilogy.
Breathtaking stuff, really. What a time to be alive!
Story
Put quite succinctly, the story of Miles is simply…different. The Miles Morales comic book character was created in 2011 by writer Brian Michael Bendis after Donald Glover campaigned to be the first black Spiderman back in late 2010/early 2011, when the second season of Community premiered. Yes, this entire franchise was created from a black dude wanting to be Peter Parker, and his acceptance in the comic book community was rocky at best. The story of the animated character reflects some of those struggles. He’s never quite seemed to fit in.
I like the little things about this movie. Like how at the beginning, Miles contemplates telling his parents about his secret identity, but brushes off the idea saying “maybe in another universe”. Then musters courage to tell his mum towards the end of the movie, but he happens to actually be in another universe, where no Spiderman exists; how Miles is hesitant to accept Gwen’s handshake at the rooftop party cos the last time they shared one, she left for another dimension and he didn’t see her for a year and a half; and Pavitr Prabhakar (aka Spider-Man India, aka Pav) addressing his dislike for the words “Chai Tea” cos Chai means Tea, just like Miles points out (in my 4th favourite cinematographic scene) how saying “ATM Machine” is redundant because the M in ATM already stands for ‘Machine’; how Pav’s version of Gwen is named Gyatri; and how Hobie’s non-conformism is so beautifully depicted. I actually burst out laughing when he says he hates the AM (referring to mornings) and hates the PM (referring to the Prime Minister).
There’s a ton of character growth throughout the movie. From Miles thinking he wouldn’t be good enough to hang (see what I did there?) in the Spider Society, to him realizing their ideology is wack, and he’s stronger than all of them; to The Spot going from the Villain of the Week to the Villain of the Multiverse. Even Hobie goes from apparently being Miles’ competitor for Gwen to being one of his most trusted, most unexpected allies.
There’s a point to be noted about how canon events are a euphemism for archetypes and stereotypes in scriptwriting, stating that superhero movies for characters have to be written a certain way. And Miles seems to be fighting for literary rights to write his own story. It’s a very clever execution, showing how different he wants to be, and actually is, from every other Spider-Person. They all share similar stories, why won’t they let him choose his own path?
The movie (read: trilogy) isn’t even over but I’m willing to bet this might be one of the greatest superhero trilogies ever made. You can take out the word “superhero” from my previous statement, and it still stands.
Costume and setting
Please. I’m begging you. Don’t get me started.
The movie is a cheat sheet for anyone who is even remotely a fan of Spider-Man. Because they tried to fit EVERY SINGLE SPIDER-MAN in this movie. Save for an elite few, like Madame Web, every Spider-Man that you know and love is most likely featured. There’s a Peter Parked Car, a dinosaur Spider-Man, an avatar Spider-Man (SpiderByte — who is actually Miles’ true love. That’s the pair I ship, btw), a cat Spider-Man, there’s even a Lego Spider-Man, who — fun fact — is the only character Miguel O’Hara compliments in the entire movie.
It’s also incredible how they combined different art forms of both animation and live action. For example, CEO Miguel is animated on ones (a new frame every second), Miles is animated on twos (new frame every two seconds) and Hobie is animated on threes (new frame every 3 seconds) just to show that the character is completely out of the system. (Check this TikTok if you need a clearer understanding of what I just explained)
The setting gets top marks because it changes based on the universe they’re in. The Spider Society is upside down, with the roads in the sky; Mumbattan is busy, layered and crowded just like Mumbai, even Earth 42 is gloomy, decrepit and dilapidated, being entirely rundown by Kingpin since there was no Spider-Man in that universe. Gwen’s universe is poster coloured and often described as a mood ring, because the background colours change based on the temper and disposition of the characters. Not sure I’ve seen this done anywhere. I really enjoyed that visual experience.
I was thrilled by the description of the multiverse — a depiction that kind of reminded me of the Time Travel Tree in the reboot arc of the Invincible comics — Issue 123, and also the TTA screen depiction of timelines from the Loki TV series. Somehow, I feel like they are all interwoven. I can’t prove it now, but give me time and I will.
Another thing worthy of note is how they redesigned several costumes. Spider Woman and Pav got costume redesigns that turned out way cooler than the originals. Spider man 2099 too, with the edge lines always extending past his shoulders, Peter Parker in his pink robe and slippers, even Miles got a new costume. But what stood out to me the most was the level of inclusion in the movie. Spider Woman is now black, and nobody complained about it. Is this growth? Or just plain acceptance from fatigue. First Tinkerbell, then Ariel, and now Spider Woman? Disney must be wearing the tikitorch whites down. Whichever way, I’m loving it. Top marks for Costume and Setting! Top marks I say!
Cinematography
The shots were simply breathtaking. This movie is a brilliant depiction of why an argument can be made for animation being a superior art form. Anything is possible, and you’re not restricted by the limitations of shooting in live action. The list of award worthy shots in this movie is endless but I’ll try to enumerate my top 5.
5. The Vulture sequence at the beginning that culminates in the helicopter scene where Spider-Gwen spins a web to save the people at the bottom of the museum while simultaneously impressing her future employers. That comparison between the chopper blades and her drumsticks had the little kid inside me very excited.
4. The scene where Miles is microwaving a beef patty (shot from inside the microwave) while the Jamaican store keeper tries to fight The Spot with a wooden bat. (Here’s another fun fact for you: The storekeeper is played by Ziggy Marley)
3. Every. Single. (Fight) Scene. With. The. Spot. But particularly the one in Mumbattan. Now those would have been incredibly hard to pull off, even with CGI and an IMAX camera.
2. The entire sequence where the two lovebirds go city touring after Gwen flips backwards out of Miles’ window and asks “is…Spider-Man grounded?”
1. The scene where the background rotates as Gwen spider-walks to the bottom of the ledge of the Williamsburg Bank Building, and shows that exclusive upside down view of the city. Whether that shot can be recreated in live action or not is up for debate, but it was definitely the most beautiful shot in the movie. Cinematography at its peak.
Looking at this list in retrospect, almost all the best cinematography shots in my opinion have Spider Gwen in them. Either the makers were biased, or I am. Either way, I stand by my list.
Acting
How does one review voice acting? Not saying it isn’t hard, but live action is definitely harder. At least 80% of the credit for acting goes to the animators. This doesn’t retract from the acting though. I love the attention to detail. It’s always the little things. For example, Pav’s moves and stance at any point are all Indian-inspired. The boomerang bangle is used brilliantly, Spider Punk’s British accent fit so well with his look, and Gwen always seems to land/walk on her toes, like a ballet dancer. And my favourite thing about the final scene, where Miles rolls his Rs when introducing himself, showing that his mother had a more significant role to play in his upbringing in this new universe. Little things like that make me feel like the actors and directors are putting in the work.
The choice for my favourite character is split evenly between MayDay Parker and Hobie Brown. And combined they probably had screen time spanning less than 10% of the movie, but I don’t know who I loved more. Ben Riley added twists of humour that were both dark and hilarious. Rio Morales spun 300 yards of wife and mother material — in silk — in several scenes. The jokes bounced off the characters perfectly while still managing to maintain a serious tone where necessary. Every role was played beautifully and every character seemed brilliantly cast. Top marks. I have no notes.
Music
I don’t usually talk about music in my movie reviews, but this OST is worthy of mention. I don’t know how to explain it but the music hit different this time around. Every chord seemed to cut right through the noise and land on my eardrums so beautifully, it felt like the artists and writers were all one person.
For example, when James Blake’s unmistakable voice comes on after Miles gets grounded, humming that Hummingbird tune. And how beautiful and breezy Dominic Fike’s Mona Lisa sounds while the two lovebirds practice threading the needle all through the city. It’s beautiful. I came out of the cinema hall humming “I can see your face in the Parisian paintings. The Mona Lisa”, and for the entire duration while writing this movie review I played the Metro Boomin album.
Such rizz!
In the first instalment in the series, there were individual songs that made incredible waves, like Swae Lee and Post Malone’s Sunflower, and Blackway and Black Caviar’s What’s Up Danger. Sunflower was even incorporated into the movie’s script. But the Metro Boomin soundtrack smacks harder because all the songs go so well with the accompanying moods being depicted in the movie. Almost like the artists watched the movie first and then made the songs to go with it.
Honorary mention to Uncle Aaron’s gramophone for always playing black classics. A true legend in any universe.
Also, it seemed like major characters had their own theme music. Miguel and Prowler both had these gloomy chords that played every time they were introduced on screen. Also at the end when the new team joins forces with the squad from Into The Spider-Verse, you can hear the theme music for multiple characters combine.
I’m going to be playing these songs for a long time. Goosebumps, I tell you. Bumps de la goose.
Rating.
5D
★★★★★
Dynamite! Dynamic! Delirious! Different! Download Worthy! Delightful! Damn!
That’s 7 Ds. Lol! There is no higher rating.
I may be biased because this movie and its prequel inspired me to delve into the world of animation, but I’m not alone. This is currently the highest rated superhero movie ever and like I mentioned earlier, it exists in a world where Nolan created The Dark Knight trilogy. The movie is fantastic. I’ve watched it over 11 times, and told everyone I love to go see it. My kids will probably be able to recite it word for word at this rate. Yes, it’s that good. I cannot believe I have to wait a whole year for the sequel but I am thoroughly entertained.
If it’s still showing in a cinema near you, please go see it. But make sure you see the prequel first. It helps.
